tak-ing. si-des. post. vs. homogenic.

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i've been listening to post a lot over the past few days and my personal opinion of it is starting to shift almost to the point of usurping homogenic as my favorite. homogenic lays out the plan the first time you hear it, good-better-good-better-no-good-bad-bad-pastiche-boring, and it's stuck with that forever. post seems more relevent and less predictable, it holds my attention for the entire album's length, and actually has good songs to in the second half of the record, shock horror. i think i like the bjork of post better than the bjork of homogenic too, she seems less like the disappointment she eventually ended up as and more like a pool of deep overflowing TALENT.

― ethan, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

wrong side of the question, should be post/homogenic vs cespertine/selma songs, latter definitley winning out for depth and scope.

― Geoff, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

sorry, i only start threads about good bjork albums.

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Last time I checked I preferred Homogenic. Somehow though I do feel that Homogenic's position in my mind is static. Like it has all this awe and wonderfulness and whatever but then it doesn't grow with you. I always found Post sort of inconsistant and I actually don't find the second half that memorable (Besides 'I Miss You'). But the album seems more colorful and rewarding with increased listening-investments. For now, I'm still going with Homogenic, but that could change.

Oh and Vespertine really isn't so bad. Is it?

― Honda, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

have you all gone mad? She only gets better with every album. I don't think comparing albums in their entirety is a very good way to analyze Bjork in the first place. She seems to show strength or weakness from song to song. Each one has a life of it's own.

― Timothy, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

debut cos it's got the line where she imagines sneaking off to an island with her "little ghetto blaster" (in a song recorded in bathroom of a club??). oh that wasn't the question.

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh and Vespertine really isn't so bad. Is it?

It is. Sadly.

Anyway, as for Post vs. Homogenic... Homogenic just has better sounds on it, the strings pulse like an alien language, every little effect is perfectly placed. But Post is somehow more emotionally affecting, maybe it has slightly better songs on it. Post creates a separate world, with strange characters that inhabit it. Though that world is sadly punctured by It's Oh So Quiet, which is entirely out of place on the album. So I think my final answer is...they're both unquestionably great. Damn.

― Melissa W, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The concept of DARING to skip even ONE track on Homogenic is absolutely anathema to me. Post is very good, but it has weak spots. Homogenic is perfect from beginning to end. No contest.

― EdwardO, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If it weren't for Alarm Call, I'd agree.

― Melissa W, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Weren't? Wasn't. Tired.

― Melissa W, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think Homogenic. I still like both Debut and Vespertine better than Post and Homogenic. Go figure.

― Omar, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

anyone who hasn't skipped immature at least once is a stronger bjork fan than i. and dear god, alarm call. and track five!

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

it took me a very long time to realize what a great ecord 'homogenic' is .. 'All neon like' , 'hunter','Bachelorette' ..these are amazing songs.i can't listen to 'alarm call' and 'five years' though. as for Post, i agree with Melissa, 'it's oh so quiet' is out of place .I'm not so keen on 'you've been flirting again' but apart from that it's perfect.i'd buy it for 'Isobel' and 'Enjoy' alone ...

― marie, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

oh and i do skip 'immature' most of the time ...

― marie, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I can't stand Bjork. Too much "Kooky Woman Makes Art" about her.

― Dr.,C, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Strange, I luv Alarm Call, banging tune. Probably a track for ravers and techno-baldies then.

― Omar, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Alarm Call is great. Immature is even better. It's Oh So Quiet is NOT out of place on Post - You've Been Flirting Again is because it's crap and the rest of the album is distinctly UNcrap.

― EdwardO, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

you've been flirting is wonderful, one of the best songs on the record. it's oh so quiet is one of those songs like mos def's 'rock & roll' that are good but don't belong on the album and would be much better served issued only as a single.

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Post has some great songs, but I hate the fact that the four weakest songs to me are in a row ("The Modern Things" - "You've Been Flirting Again"). It almost always makes me think less of the rest of the record. Homogenic is much more solid (even the second half) and has about the same percentage of standout tracks. Another reason I like Homogenic better is that I connect an emotion to it. Post is too over- the-place for me to feel a certain way when I hear it.

― palpable, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The first Bjork I heard was a bootlegged cassette version of Homogenic that came out of the tapedeck at a slightly faster tempo/higher pitch than the actual album. I only found this out after listening to the 'flawed' recording for several months in the car stereo. So my favorite Bjork album=speeded up version of Homogenic. Hmmm...if I got the vinyl I could re-produce the effect...

― turner, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Having just read the 'Keen' thread I realize that my take on this probably isn't worth much since I love pretty much everything she does.

But anyway, Homogenic hands down. It takes alot more patience to 'get' it but I think in the long run it is a better album simply because it is more focused and more sonically interesting. I don't have any other albums that sound like Homogenic really. As for 'Alarm Call', well it seems like one of those things I allow Bjork to get away with and nobody else. (It's the fan thing, you see?)

The jazz pianist Jason Moran thinks that Homogenic is a classic on the same level as A Love Supreme. Hmm...

― Ryan A White, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

oh i wouldn't say it's that bad.

― ethan, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Actually, Melissa, you were right with "weren't." Trust your instincts.

To broaden the sides even further: what about Telegram?

― Nitsuh, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i've heard it but i don't have it. i want it though.

― ethan, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

_Telegram_ is a great album and, in many ways, highlights how much stronger the general songwriting of _Post_ was than _Homogenic_. (IMO, _Post_ had a large number of very, very good songs, whle _Homogenic_ has a couple of absolutely brilliant things mixed in with amazing clankers. I still have troble believing that that people really like "All Is Full Of Love".)

― Dan Perry, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Gulp. All is full of love is prob my favourite Bjork song.

Anyway what about Gling-Glo, anyone care for that?

― Billy Dods, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i'd like to hear it, but i'm not about to pay for it.

― ethan, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Could one of the moderators please edit out the comment implying that "The Modern Things" was somehow an inferior track?

― Tim, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I love "Post" and think its highlights are better than those on "Homogenic", but think the latter is a more consistent album.

On a related note, last weekend I met this cute Asian guy in a chatroom, and invited him over, ostensibly to meet, but probabably to end up fooling around. He was impressed with the size of my record collection (natch), and since I'm going to see her soon, I asked if he liked Bjork. He had never heard of her!! So I put on "Post", and showed him her other LPs. I have primo, mint import copies of all of her stuff, and treat them (and all my records) with the utmost care. This kid proceeds to hold "Homogenic" by a corner of the jacket, letting it flop down and putting a big crease in my immaculate copy!! Ok, maybe I'm anal, but I practically wanted to throw him out of my apartment. Any attraction I had for him was finished. After a few uncomfortable minutes, he left. Luckily, he was unable to wreak any more havoc.

"Vespertine" took quite a few plays for me to get it, but I love it now.

― Sean, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

that's not on a related note at all.

― ethan, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Modern Things and You've Been Flirting again are FANTASTIC.

― Melissa W, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I like All Is Full Of Love mainly because it is a great follow up to Pluto. After the explosion, there is just an ocean of calm and peace. A great way to close out an emotionally intense album. It is kind of formless though, and that makes me want to hear the Death Cab For Cutie cover version, if only to see if they bring out any latent structure in the song.

― Ryan A White, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't download the Death Cab version, for your own sake. It's TERRIBLE.

― Melissa W, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Is it funny bad? Or just painful bad? I could use a good laugh.

― Ryan A White, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Painful bad.

― Melissa W, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Christ! How can you even begin to question the album with "Joga" on it????

― Adam Bruneau, Tuesday, 16 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Thanks for the warning Melissa.

The only good cover version of Bjork I know of is Jason Moran's barely recognizable rendition of Joga.

I can also testify to the fact that The Modern Things is unquestionably a great song because my 18-month old niece squeals with delight when I put it on. Strangely, her other favorite is Mogwai Fear Satan. As you can tell, I have been subjecting her to strenuous experiments to discover whether in fact musical appreciation is innate or acquired. So far: results are hopelessly confusing.

― Ryan A White, Tuesday, 16 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Because that same album has "All Neon Like" on it. Tuneless noodling on a synth does not automatically equal genius. (By contrast, fucking around with music boxes does automatically equal genius, which is why _Vespertine_ is so nice.)

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 16 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Shame on you Dan, All Neon Like is fantastic. And her little music box thing on Vespertine sounds like Tori Amos' Bells for Her.

― Melissa W, Tuesday, 16 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think Homogenic is far superior to Post though I like both. Some of the stuff on Post sounds too fusion-y or something. Everything on Homogenic/Selmasongs/Vespertine sounds far more effortless, though I should admit I have only listened to Post once or twice and have heard the others about a hundred times each. I bought the Gling-Glo CD which I didn't like so much. For anyone interested, I would definitely recomend the song with Bjork on the Brodsky quartet record. I think it might be the best thing I ever heard (it's a remake of one of her songs from Post I think) Also, my friend just gave me a CD-R with about six songs that were axed from Vespertine and they are top notch. He included the remix of 'All is Full of Love' from the Stigmata soundtrack (the one she made the video for with the robots f'ing). The beat makes the song far more fleshed out and I can't get enough of it. I would also like to say to Melissa (after reading your posts in the Vespertine thread) that it seems as if you've taken it upon yourself to constantly trash this album, which is fine, but my guess is you were immediately let down by it and have maybe decided to never listen to again and, thus, have not given it it's proper chance. I apologize if I'm wrong and, also, I do admit there is definitely something less awe-inspiring about the new record than her previous stuff. I just happen to like it anyway. Still, I'm oddly protective of Bjork and nervous about where she' s going (piercing her back and all that) and am not sure I like her boyfriend's part in it.

― hans, Tuesday, 16 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I first heard Vespertine in April. Listened to it for several weeks. First impression: new Bjork! Yay! Goddess! second impression: This is a bit boring though, isn't it. third: Shut up, I did not want to know that about you. fourth: Why does this sound exactly like John Williams' soundtrack to Empire of the Sun? fifth: I HAVE to like this. This is Bjork, how can I not like this? But I don't. :'( upon buying the album: This is sort of nice, the sounds are so pretty. Maybe I was wrong! second listen after buying the album: Fuck it. This is risible and drippy and trite and should have been called Velveeta.

― Melissa W, Tuesday, 16 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If I am not mistaken that is not a synth in 'All Neon Like' but someone is playing wine glasses or whatever it is called. I may be wrong tho, but I thought I heard that somewhere. I freaking love that song, its very elusive though.

Melissa - I wouldn't give up on Bjork, I love Vespertine, but I also hope she goes in a different direction next time. With vespertine she seems to have staked a very particular teritorry. So much so that one of her best songs (Verandi) was left off the album because she felt it didnt fit! Scary, angry bjork is better than lovey dovey schmoopie bjork, and I hope she will return someday. So in that sense I definetly agree with you. Someone mentioned to me that Vespertine brings out all her worst qualities for them. That seems to be your problem with it.

― Ryan A White, Tuesday, 16 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

whatever it is on All Neon Like .. it sounds fantastic.especially the bit where she screams 'and the luuuu-mi-nious beam ....' ;'The Modern Things' is fantastic, too. as for Vespertine ,i love 'Pagan Poetry'.I can't be bothered to get the album though.

― marie, Wednesday, 17 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm sorry for pissing off the general consensus. :( "The Modern Things" starts off fine, but I get tired of it at the key change usually. Admittedly, it is my favorite of that four song run. You can hit me now if you want.

― palpable, Thursday, 18 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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